1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to endless conveyor systems, and particularly to such systems for supplying cartridges to automatic guns.
2. Background of the Invention
Aircraft armament now requires extremely high rates of fire in short or sustained bursts. While the modern Gatling gun of the type first disclosed by H. McC. Otto in U.S. Pat. No. 2,849,921 issued Sept. 2, 1958 is admirably suited to this task, the supplying of cartridges to the gun becomes a more critical limitation as the individual mass and quantity of cartridges to be accelerated and conveyed from the supply of cartridges to the gun is increased.
Typically the cartridges are delivered to the gun either in a linear belt, or in an endless conveyor.
Each cartridge may be supported either on the cylinder of its case or on the base of the case. Linear belts supporting each cartridge on the base of its case are shown by Siemens-Schuckertwerke in German Pat. No. 571,771 issued Mar. 4, 1933; Boulton Paul Aircraft in British Pat. No. 571,430 issued Aug. 24, 1945; J. D. North in U.S. Pat. No. 2,357,127 issued Aug. 29, 1944; G. Sergeeff in U.S. Pat. No. 1,137,543 issued Apr. 27, 1915; and in German Pat. No. 581,927 issued Aug. 5, 1933.
Endless conveyors supporting each cartridge on its cylindrical side are shown by D. P. Tassie in U.S. Pat. No. 3,612,255 issued Oct. 12, 1971; N. C. Garland et al in U.S. Pat. No. 3,720,301 issued Mar. 13, 1973; and R. G. Kirkpatrick in U.S. Pat. No. 3,429,221 issued Feb. 25, 1969.
While the belts with cartridges may be packed in rather close layers, the belts are not adapted to receive and store fired cartridge cases. While the endless conveyors are adapted to receive and store fired cartridge cases, the conveyors are not adapted to packed in rather close layers without end loops.
It is an object of this invention to provide an endless conveyor which may be packed in close layers without large end loops.
It is another object of this invention to provide a conveyor element for receiving the base of a cartridge case and which can be loaded and unloaded automatically.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a magazine, utilizing an endless conveyor, having a minimum of volume and a maximum of simplicity.
A feature of this invention is the provision of a magazine having an endless conveyor comprising a plurality of links, each having a respective element for releasably capturing the extractor disk of a cartridge case.